Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! Our 501(c)3 is registered as Project M25, Inc. Our EIN is 85-1674-143. WelcomeNST is officially a D/B/A of Project M25 Inc.

WelcomeNST is funded through private grants from organizations like The Shapiro Foundation and Welcome.us. All of WelcomeNST’s operating expenses are currently paid from these grants.

Neighborhood support teams raise their funds independently by reaching out to their community. These funds the Neighborhood Support Team receives will be used to support the refugee family they are welcoming. It is important to note that fundraising platforms (such as GoFundMe or Classy) will charge their own transaction fees when donations are made.

WelcomeNST mentors community teams who are working to help a refugee family resettle in their area. Our non-profit guides these groups as they prepare to apply to support a family. WelcomeNST is able to assist teams welcoming newcomers primarily through Uniting for Ukraine or the Sponsor Circles program.

WelcomeNST is a partner with Welcome.us. Welcome.us is the hub and clearing house for tools, resources, and information for organizations that are creating sponsor circles (which we call NSTs). WelcomeNST uses those tools to reach out to communities, identify neighbors who are interested in sponsoring a refugee family, and help them apply and prepare to welcome that family.

Most other organizations engaged in the Sponsor Circle program are resettlement agencies. The difference between us and the other agencies is that we were formed expressly to engage neighbors like you in the important work of resettlement. That is what we do. Period. Thus, our sole mission is to "unleash the power of community on the refugee crisis.”

As thousands of families have landed on American soil seeking refuge from Afghanistan and Ukraine in these last months alone - only to be met with an overwhelmed resettlement system - communities have joined the ranks of first responders by opening their homes, wallets and lives to welcome the stranger. WelcomeNST is all about unleashing the power of community on the refugee crisis because we believe that the answer to this crisis lies in the unlimited potential of communities to help their neighbors.

We engage communities in the U.S. to form Neighborhood Support Teams (NSTs) to sponsor and welcome refugee families to America.

A “Neighborhood Support Team,” or NST, is a volunteer group of 20-30 people who work together to welcome a refugee family into their community. Each NST has two team leads who coordinate the efforts, and teams are organized by interest into subcommittees of people who fill specific roles (e.g., benefits, education, employment, etc.). NSTs officially commit to helping a family through their first six months of resettlement, but the friendships formed may last a lifetime.

How do I learn more about forming or volunteering with an NST?

Register for one of our upcoming NST 101 sessions

Register for one of our upcoming NST 101 sessions

Form an NST to welcome a refugee family in your community! Start by registering for an upcoming NST 101 session.

Donate to support our NSTs that are actively working to help refugees.

WelcomeNST has a team in Ukraine is staffed by people who have chosen to stay in Ukraine. They conduct interviews with Ukrainians seeking refuge, and gather information to first make sure they are eligible to apply for Uniting for Ukraine, and are able to be considered for humanitarian parole status in the US. They also ask several questions in order to better detail their stories to potential sponsors, as well as gather pictures to share. In addition to this, all Uniting for Ukraine beneficiaries are subject to biographic and biometric security checks conducted by Customs and Border Patrol before they are granted travel authorization or paroled into the United States.

This program was created to provide a temporary refuge for Ukrainians displaced due to the war.

A form that was created for a US Citizen who has agreed to temporarily become the financial sponsor for someone arriving on a tourist or visitor visa to ensure that they will not stay and become a ward of the state.

1. Identify a Ukrainian individual or family that would like to be sponsored for relocation to the United States

2. Complete the I-134 online, providing information for both the sponsor and the Ukrainian beneficiary

3. USCIS will either approve or deny this application

4. Once approved, the sponsor and beneficiary will work together to arrange travel into the United States

5. The sponsor and team will then work to help the beneficiary family become self-reliant

Note: If your team has not identified a beneficiary family to sponsor, WelcomeNST can assist with a matching process

The I-134 form is not complicated, but it is thorough. The document requests identifying information about the sponsor and beneficiary such as birth dates, addresses, and passport numbers.

Additionally, to ensure that the beneficiary family members do not become wards of the state, the I-134 also requests financial information from the sponsor to prove that the family’s needs will be covered.

That’s OK! Utilizing our contacts in Ukraine and surrounding the border, WelcomeNST has a growing list of Ukrainian families looking to come to the US.

No. They must be citizens of Ukraine who were living in Ukraine prior to February 11, 2022.

Yes. Applicants for parole undergo these checks prior to arrival in the United States to ensure public safety, public health, and national security.

If you have a specific Ukrainian family that you want to sponsor, you don’t! You can absolutely apply and be approved independently. With that said, having worked with over 90 teams who have welcomed hundreds of refugees, we have learned that the application part of the process is akin to the delivery of a new child. It’s a big deal, but really just the beginning. We will help you know how to prepare, organize, staff and fund your team so that you are set up for success after the family arrives.

If you don’t have a specific family that you want to sponsor, but are interested in becoming an NST for a Ukrainian family, the Uniting for Ukraine program (authored by the White House) requires that you name a specific family when you apply. In this case, we will also match you with a family that is seeking refuge in the U.S.

Yes. Individual I-134 documents will need to be completed. There is a space in the application to note family members who are also submitting I-134 applications in order to link their files.

Yes. However, a single individual must sign and take responsibility on the I-134. Resources that will be provided collectively by a team can be submitted as supplemental. Teams can attach a statement explaining their shared responsibility.

At the very least, sponsors should document that their income is sufficient to keep their own family plus the additional members of the beneficiary family above the poverty line. However, until USCIS starts approving or denying applications, we don’t know exactly where they are drawing the line. Therefore, we recommend listing your other assets as well just to be sure you’re covered.

Take a look at the 2022 poverty guidelines per family size.

No. A fee is not required as it has been waived for Uniting for Ukraine.

Based on the best information we have today, the anticipated wait time for approval is 30 days. Interviews and biometric requirements of beneficiary families may lengthen this time.

No. This is a required document to receive approval through Uniting for Ukraine.

Concrete information is not currently available on this topic. However, the general thought is that the government will not deny applications if passports of minors are not provided. Most likely, either children will receive a one-time travel document in order to enter the United States or a birth certificate should suffice as identification and relationship to parents.

Yes.

Yes.

USCIS is reviewing and approving I-134 applications.

Ukrainian parolees are eligible for benefits to the same extent as refugees. They can receive Matching Grant, Refugee Cash and Medical Assistance, Preferred Communities, and Refugee Support Services, and can access federal assistance programs like TANF, SNAP, and SSI (if appropriate). They are not eligible for the Reception and Placement Program administered through the State Department.

Please see this fact sheet from the Office of Refugee Resettlement More Information HERE.

Yes. The I-94 that they receive upon arrival can be used for temporary work authorization for up to 90 days. NSTs will also need to assist the family in applying for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). This can be done by submitting an I-765. The fee will be waived.

The Neighborhood Support Team will be responsible for arranging and paying for travel costs.

They will not. NSTs can assist the family in applying for SSN by using Part 2 of the I-765 application. We are hopeful that this will change in the near future.

Sponsorship lasts as long as the humanitarian parole is granted. In the case of Uniting for Ukraine, parole is being granted for 2 years.

The department of homeland security wants to ensure that beneficiaries do not become homeless or wards of the state. For this reason, the I-134 is meant to be intimidating to ensure sponsors take their responsibility with great care.

The beneficiary has no direct recourse on the sponsor. The government has recourse only if the beneficiary receives specific government safety net services and decides to pursue a lawsuit to recover money spent on the beneficiary. This situation is unlikely - still, the risk is not zero.

“[The] Form I-134 is often referred to by legal experts as being “unenforceable,” particularly when compared to its longer-lasting counterpart, Form I-864, which U.S. citizens and permanent residents submit when sponsoring foreign relatives for a green card.

There are a few reasons why the I-134 is called “unenforceable”:

• Visitors to the U.S. are not eligible for the vast majority of government-sponsored public assistance benefits in the first place and, if they apply, will in most cases be denied.

• Most government agencies do not have the time or resources to enforce the terms of an I-134, even if a temporary visitor does obtain public assistance

• The I-134 sponsor is agreeing to support the nonimmigrant for only a limited and specific period of time, so any potential liability is limited to the planned duration of the visit

• Only USCIS knows who sponsors whom. This is not public information. So if there’s a problem that raises flags around liability, there’s no way for an insurance company to connect the family with the sponsor.

In other words, Form I-134 is mostly bark and very little bite, legally speaking. It is basically used to show immigration officials

that the otherwise possibly indigent noncitizen has a friend in the U.S. earning a respectable income who is willing to take care of

him or her.” (Gasson, K. 2022. Filling out form I-134 affidavit of support to help a U.S. visa applicant. NOLO.) Further reading: McLawsen, G. (2022). No, Uniting for Ukraine Sponsors Cannot Be Sued Under the I-134 Affidavit of Support.

There is currently no process to legally withdraw from sponsorship, but there’s similarly no path to enforce it.

Pathways have not yet been created for beneficiaries granted parole status through Uniting for Ukraine. However, we are hopeful that this will change in the near future.

Humanitarian parole is a temporary status by definition. Beneficiaries who have not been granted another status--such as asylum, re-parole, or Temporary Protected Status--are not legally allowed to remain in the United States when their humanitarian parole period ends.